1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for preparing a trifluorohydrocarbon compound.
2. Background Art
Various fluorine-containing compounds have heretofore been used as medicines, pesticides, detergents and solvents, and as raw materials and intermediates used for the preparation of these materials.
In recent years, to cope with an environmental problem of depletion of the ozone layer caused by Freon.RTM. compounds, especially chlorofluorocarbons, other fluorine-containing compounds have been intensively investigated and developed as substitutes for Freon compounds.
A process is known for preparing the fluorine-containing compounds having a high practical use, which comprises converting a carbon-hydrogen bond of a hydrocarbon compound to a carbon-fluorine bond by using cobalt trifluoride (CoF.sub.3) [see, for example, R. E. Banks, J. C. Tatlow, J. Fluorine Chem., 33, 227(1986)].
However, there are no great differences among the reactivities of the plurality of carbon-hydrogen bonds in the hydrocarbon compound used as the raw material, and therefore, a mixture of various fluorinated compounds having one or more bonded fluorine atoms or many isomers are inevitably produced. In other words, the fluorination reaction is not selective. Thus, a process for selectively fluorinating hydrocarbon compounds by using a cobalt trifluoride is not known.